Lure Blog #8
Perch Mystery
Andy with a typical Bewl Water Perch
Recently I’ve been fishing Bewl Water trying to locate Perch; this has occupied my time for the last couple of seasons, after initially catching in very deep water during the spring I’ve struggled to find any consistent depth or area where I could expect to catch fish. Until very recently my efforts have been very “hit and miss” at best. However the other day while fishing with angling guide Rikki Cooper we made a breakthrough. Rikki had previously found Perch fry feeding around the “cages” so we headed off there, we chose small shallow running crankbaits casting in and around the erupting shoals of fry. We didn’t catch any Perch but we did catch some marauding Trout. On our next move we stumbled on a large shoal of fish holding in a gully leading to the main body of the reservoir. We drifted this area presenting small fry sized soft plastics on dropshot rigs, this inspired change of tactics paid off immediately with us both catching numbers of Perch to just shy of 1lb. Although we didn’t catch any monsters we are now a little closer to understanding their movements.
Rikki’s Roach? You never know what’s going to take your lure next!
Wind of Change
I shouldn’t grumble but “high summer” is not a great time for my fishing. I go through the motions in the hope of catching a few nice fish during July and August knowing that Predators are mainly switched off. Occasional trips to the sea are a welcome break as I mark time waiting for the autumn.
September heralds the change almost instantly the weather breaks with cooler nights and refreshing rain. With oxygenated water the fish become invigorated and active, now I’m excited about going lure fishing again. Fry are everywhere and the Pike, Perch, Trout and Zander are targeting them. My top tip is to keep your eyes peeled for Great Crested Grebes constantly diving; these fish eating birds will be feeding heavily on fry too!
Zander take spoons too!
I’m gaging to start my serious lure fishing again I’ve been drooling over packets of “soft plastics” baits, that are going to be irresistible to Zander, as I sort all my kit out. The autumn will see me heading north to the Midlands visiting Rutland and Grafham reservoirs as often as possible in search of Zander and Perch. My fishing buddy James Gardner and I are obsessed with these “deep water” predators. To be successful requires a lot of thought, refining tackle and techniques until you start catching large numbers of fish. As a shoal predator it’s possible to catch several Zander per day, which means lots of takes. If you fancy at crack at ‘vertical’ Zander fishing it’s worth reading my “in depth” articles on the subject, they can be found archived in the “Article Section” of our web-site www.thefriendlyfisherman.co.uk
The Lure Anglers Society [L.A.S.] Bewl Water Lure Event report
The now annual Lure Event at Bewl Water sponsored by The Friendly Fisherman was held at the beginning of August. 14 eager lure anglers were greeted by beautiful sunny, warm weather great for sun tans but not the best conditions for Trout fishing. In fact the Trout had moved from their fry bashing around the “Cages” and “The Dam” to the cooler water around the "Bubbles", those who persisted in this area, caught well.
My boat partner Roy Goddard and I decided to concentrate on Perch which we located in 20ft to 30ft [6-9m] of water. We caught lots of small to medium sized fish around 6-8oz as we drifted and jigged our lures close to the bottom. Lots of bites, several missed takes and quite a few Perch falling off at the boat side made for a very busy, fun day.
L.A.S. ‘Lure Event’ winner Ron Dalton
Top rod and 1st prize of £75 went to Ron Dalton [England Lure Squad manager] with the largest bag of Trout. Wayne Fletcher, Ron’s boat partner had a mare loosing lots of fish due to "rubber" hooks, I'm told? But fair play to Wayne who’s boat control kept Ron within casting range of the "bubbles".
2nd prize of £50 went to Rikki Cooper, another England Lure Squad member, for the largest Trout, Ron would have won this prize too but it was decided to share the prizes around.
3rd prize of £25 was shared by boat partners Mark Ward & Paul Barden who located a huge shoal of Perch in front of "Hook House" in 40ft [12m] of water, again jigging was the successful method.
Tight lines, have fun
Andy Lush
Andy owns The Friendly Fisherman in Tunbridge Wells [TN1 2PS], his shop as you would expect is full of everything a “lure angler” will need. Andy is available to offer advice on all things lure and fly fishing related.
